re: Interesting skoolie concept

[Jeremy]

The idea of retaining every window and not having any furniture or anything else above the waistline certainly gives a very open, airy, spacious feel - I like it.

I also like the concept shown in the video of using moveable walls to create different rooms within the same space - most definitely something with could be done in a bus conversion with (a lot of) effort. Although I suspect an idea like that would lose it's shine when up against the everyday annoyance of (for example) having to get every single thing in exactly the right place in the bedroom before you can move the wall to go to the bathroom or use the kitchen. On a more modest scale though - definitely some good concepts there.

I have a photo on my computer somewhere of an old (1950s) caravan (travel trailer) which had a concertina top section which lifted-up when parked to give the caravan a full upstairs as well as a downstairs. And the mega-buck motorhomes (semi-trailers) used by the F1 teams nowadays all do the same thing - if you can be bothered there are definitely many more inventive ways of building a bus conversion than most of us realise

Jeremy

[Lostranger]

I love seeing what others are doing, and I think Hank is applying fresh thought to an old theme. Kudos.

With that said, even with the addition of a shower, toilet, stovetop and fridge, I believe his project will still be best suited as an extended party platform for a few college friends. Would not suit our needs as a full timing couple, but that's not a criticism of Hank or his bus.

The idea of retaining every window and not having any furniture or anything else above the waistline certainly gives a very open, airy, spacious feel - I like it. 

No offense, Jeremy, but I don't like it. Partly because our bus is low, and I don't want the world looking in. Partly because all those windows take up so much valuable wall space. Mostly because that much uninsulated glass is a nightmare during cold weather. We barely survived last winter in our Gillig even with most of the windows insulated and covered on the inside. To be fair, other areas of the bus, including the floor, were not insulated, but I am of the "put a few thermal pane windows where you need them" school. Can't wait to reskin in late summer and get rid of all that glass. We lived for a year and a half in a step van with no windows. Just windshield, front doors and two skylights. Plenty of light for us. We did, and still do, spend a lot of time outdoors.

But of course, different strokes.... I'm glad everyone is free to convert in the manner they see fit, and — again — I love to see what folks are doing.

Best to all,

Jim

[shelled]

...
No offense, Jeremy, but I don't like it. Partly because our bus is low, and I don't want the world looking in. Partly because all those windows take up so much valuable wall space. Mostly because that much uninsulated glass is a nightmare during cold weather. We barely survived last winter in our Gillig even with most of the windows insulated and covered on the inside. To be fair, other areas of the bus, including the floor, were not insulated, but I am of the "put a few thermal pane windows where you need them" school...

But of course, different strokes.... I'm glad everyone is free to convert in the manner they see fit, and — again — I love to see what folks are doing.

Jim's post brings some things to consider to mind.

First, the heat load and energy consumption of artificial lighting.  With incandescent lights -- and fluorescent lights -- for 8-9 months of the year, the heat to produce a given amount of light from artificial sources is greater the the heat from sunlight.  And then you also have added expenses to make the power to operate said lights and the air conditioning to combat the the extra heat.  LED lighting is a huge win here.

Second, Many RVs of all types, not just bus conversions create wall space that begs for some sort of decorative art.  I prefer the ever changing natural scenery a window brings.  The flip side is that "ever changing natural scenery" is in short supply in parking lots and close packed RV parks.

Third, a personal quirk is that I feel safer when I can see what's going on outside.

Last, I see nobody paying attention to the important issue of fresh air exchange.  Your body burns O2 and puts out CO2 and after a while there is not enough O2 without fresh air.  When you skin over the old windows and put in a few new windows that seal tightly to keep the cold (or heat) out, after you've spray foamed over all the seams inside, what are you going to breathe.  Architects and HV/AC engineers have to meet standards to insure breathable air yet nobody seems to give it a thought here.

edward

[Lostranger]

Edwards's points are excellent. We are careful about air flow in particular. Three factory roof vents help. Our windows will be strategically placed, and our door latches open. We use one of those screens with magnets in the middle, and I no longer feel a need to build a framed screen. LED lighting throughout.

Thanks, Edward.

Jim

[Lostranger]

A couple more thoughts, then I'll give it a rest:

First, my interest in not wasting wall space has nothing to do with art or decoration. Since our Gillig is a low floor, we have no bay storage. Our tank and battery space is under a five foot extension of the rear floor which is two steps above main floor. We have plenty of room for storage, but it's in the form of cabinets, and of course those take wall space. Natural finish maple cabinetry will be decorative, but that's not their primary gig. We'll have plenty of glass for viewing scenery, but most of the walls will be smooth on the outside and well insulated.

Second, I concede that others have different standards of what it takes to make them "feel safer." Lots of access for prying eyes has the opposite effect for us, and of course everyone should take the approach that works for them.

Best to all,

Jim

[shelled]

Thanks for the nice mention Jim.

Very definitely, each of us has different needs and attitudes.  I specifically called out wall space with no purpose other than decoration.  Storage is not wasted space -- in fact, I consider such to be a necessity for many conversions.  Your bus is a prime example.

In regard to the issue of people outside seeing in, that is the beauty of the slide-up window shades Hank used on his schoolie.  When your shades operate this way, the see-thru section is above, usually way above, the heads of people standing outside.  I plan on doing this.

A new poster to the Bus Projects, Jeremy Watson, provided a link to the professional firm that did the original design for his MCI conversion.  On their website, they say -

"Comprehensive pre-construction planning is IMI's specialty.  This is critical to creating consistent results and happy clients.  We relish in making beautiful, comfortable interior environments."

Most of the active members here have experience with conversions that were in some manner or other poorly implemented -- threads like this (and many others) are invaluable to me in pre-construction planning before wasting time, effort and money.

edward

[lornaschinske]

I wish he had started with a real coach platform instead of a school bus.  The reality is that there are plenty of coach shells out there for ridiculously cheap prices.  Heck, I know of one in particular, just put up on BNO!  I know of all the downsides beyond just cost, but still -- his implementation in a 40' or 45' would have been something more interesting to me...

Cheers, John

But you can put a skoolie in places that you couldn't put a coach (like those off the beaten path campgrounds we like). We dragged the crap out of the back end of the Eagle 05 getting it up my parents' graveled driveway where we parked the coach. The ($1400) skoolie was parked in the same place and the driveway was even more rutted when it was pulled in. No problems and the rear didn't even come close to dragging. While I do miss the bays under the Eagle 05, I am happy with the BlueBird that has FAR less rust (as in virtually none) than the Eagle. I wish we had bought the skoolie first. But if we did, I would have never been on this forum and I would not have learned so much about coaches from folks who were very willing to answer my idiot questions and then been able to apply a great deal of that acquired knowledge to the conversion of the skoolie. We even made the 2 part center hinged entry door into a single door adapting the methods used to make an Eagle 2 piece door into a single door. The biggest difference is we managed to convert the BlueBird for far less money than we had planned for the Eagle. I don't think we would have used laminate flooring as wall covering in the Eagle. I don't think we would have painted the Eagle with a foam roller. I don't think we would have used hollow core interior doors as partition walls in the Eagle. I don't think we would have turned two window air conditioners into built in units. We thought farther "outside of the box" than we would have done with the Eagle. I think a great deal of it is because, like David is always saying, it's just a skoolie. It's very liberating. And while our floor plan for the 40 ft skoolie is very similar to the 40 ft Eagle, we did change the materials quite a bit. I like our choices and I think the skoolie is turning into a more suitable residential vehicle than the Eagle would have been. With the Eagle, I had a hard time going "cheap" because every thing tended to get upgraded because it was an Eagle and the perception is that an Eagle is, and should be, a higher end conversion than a skoolie.

[shelled]

lornaschinske (did I spell that right?)--

you make a good point, but when are you going to post pictures in the Projects sections so the rest of us can crib ideas ?

edward

[lornaschinske]

when are you going to post pictures in the Projects sections so the rest of us can crib ideas ?

I have pics scattered here and there. Got some on photobucket too (where I store most of the pics). We have a few more things to do, then I will organize the pics I need and post a tour of the bus.